January 9th, 2012 by Darin

Awards season lasts through long, weird stretches of the year in the spec. fic. world (because different awards accept nominations during different periods), so you’ll see a lot of Internet noise around those times to drum up interest in this or that story. Hugo and Nebula time is up first, so I’ll use that as an excuse to mention my whichever-awards-eligible short fiction from last year.

• “∞°” (Electric Velocipede)—This one wasn’t available to the reading world until 2011, even though it has a 2010 date on it. The jury’s still out on it’s eligibility, I guess.
• “The Dust and the Red” (Apex Magazine)—This one fits the rules quite nicely, so no problem there.

Please note, I also recommend these free-to-read stories if you don’t give a rat’s ass about awards and would just like something fun to read. There’s always that, after all.

January 5th, 2012 by Darin

The Royal Lochnagar 12-year is a memorable whisky for one specific reason: it has one of the most alarmingly intense aromas I’ve ever found—and from a Highland, no less. But all things in time.

The distillers package this one aptly—regal, indigo labeling that pays homage to old typesetting aesthetics.

The Lochnagar took to my tumbler readily—it colors itself a creamy blonde and wears a round, amber belly. It’s got ribs like yellow fingers.

As I mentioned, the nose is alarmingly phenolic. In fact, I found it difficult to negotiate with in regards to the other aromas it hides. Just so, this was a delightful challenge, almost an old-world calling out in the increasingly soft-nosed environment of other distilleries catering to single-malt’s ever-rising popularity. The remainder of the aroma hints at bananas—as comical as that image is—and the smell of young leather. It keeps vanilla secrets and suggestions of strawberries and cognac. After a while, the snap of the oaken ghosts steeped from the aging casks become difficult not to notice.

Fig. 1: The Lochnagar Distillery

On the tongue, the Lochnagar is smooth, almost flat. This malt is quiet and creamy—after a while, it awakens to bitters and allspice.

The finish is evenly paced—short for a Highland, meaty, earthen, and warm.

I found only dry sugars for an aftertaste.

On a scale of 1-5, I rate the Royal Lochnagar 12-year a 3. Well done for a 12, recalcitrant yet engaging, but for the fight it offers, a little flat. It is, however, a great value for the money.

Fun facts: The “‘Royal’ prefix came after a visit and tasting in 1848 by Queen Victoria (who was said to be partial to whisky) and Prince Albert, who were staying at nearby Balmoral” (Collins Pocket Reference: Whisky, 198).

December 28th, 2011 by Darin

So, I don’t do terribly many readings, but every now and then, I crawl out into the light for some company. For those in the D/FW area, I’m giving a reading at TCU on January 25. Admission is free, of course, and there might even be time for a few questions if you have some.

[details]

December 20th, 2011 by Darin

Over at Locus, Lois Tilton has posted her picks for the best short fiction of 2011. I’m quite pleased to see that my story “∞°”—which appeared in Electric Velocipede #21/22—has made the list.

You can read the story for free, courtesy of EV.

November 9th, 2011 by Darin

Youth Lagoon: “Montana”

November 1st, 2011 by Darin

The International Labor Organization has published World of Work Report 2011: Making Markets Work for Jobs, and it’s not a heartwarming tale.

For instance, social unrest is on the rise (in perhaps larger degrees than most realize):

“Out of the 119 countries for which 2009 and 2010 Gallup survey data are available, 40 per cent of the countries show an increase in the scores for the social unrest index (the higher the score, the higher the estimated unrest).”

Part of combating these trends has to do with getting people to work, but . . .

“The global economic outlook has deteriorated significantly since 2010. The latest indicators suggest that employment growth has already begun to slow. This is the case in nearly two-thirds of advanced economies and half of the emerging and developing economies for which recent information exists. The Report shows that almost 80 million jobs need to be created over the next two years to reach pre-crisis employment rates. But the recent slowdown in economic activity suggests that the world economy is likely to only create half the number of jobs needed. As a result, on current trends, employment in advanced economies will not return to the pre-crisis situation before 2016, which is one year later than predicted in World of Work Report 2010.”

So, the burden falls to the G20 to do its best to soften the blow, but come on. You’re better off just getting ready for the apocalypse . . .

• Major powers are beefing up nuclear arsenals, despite disarmament rhetoric.
• Greek citizens finally get a say in the Euro Zone bailout deal. Whatcha think they’re gonna say?
• Manufacturing is down. That’s bad. Making things is important.

October 31st, 2011 by Darin

My short story, “Syntagm” is now up at Moon Milk Review. This was a difficult one to write, based on the events that inspired it, and I’m pleased that the strangeness of it relies neither on typical genre conventions nor magical realist conceits—both of which are my go-to weird-tools.

In our first language, things come to mean otherwise. When we say Are you guys ready?, which means, primarily, “. . . to do something,” we are saying, now, (especially now) We are all for one, which is a thing long-haired adolescents among the post oaks and greenbrier in the undeveloped acreage against Veterans’ Park, twenty feet above the creek bottom, fists and rope-swings, around illicit sleepover campfires, and the rites of our first secret society, and over film canisters of pilfered loose-leaf tobacco curling smoke in pilfered fathers’ pipes, and thoughts like small secrets of the girls we don’t speak to, say to each other. It is a thing we say to each other. We create our first language from our first language, altering it into something that appeals to us. And now we mean “Are you guys ready?”

October 31st, 2011 by Darin

“‘Maalox is a must.’ That’s one of the many tips to be found in ‘Defending Against Tear Gas,’ a fascinating flier making the rounds on the internet today.”—Adam Weinstein, Mother Jones

Fig. 1. Defending Against Tear Gas.

October 24th, 2011 by Darin

Fig 1: The entry doors to the C missile magazine. (Photo: civildefensemuseum.org)

Years ago, before I ever started drafting Noise, I was fortunate enough to get to crawl around in a decommissioned Project Nike missile base. Seeing the massive missile elevators and the expansive concrete chambers on a dark and wet night was a fascinating experience, and the images stayed with me. Later, I tapped into these recollections when I placed the fictional missile base in west Texas in a later chapter of the novel. These sites are fascinating, and while these pictures show a well-lit, dry facility, you can still imagine one dripping with ruin or ravaged by a dust storm.

Gallery: Civil Defense Museum: Nike Missile Base, Denton Texas

October 24th, 2011 by Darin

“More states limiting Medicaid hospital stays”

“A growing number of states are sharply limiting hospital stays under Medicaid to as few as 10 days a year to control rising costs of the health insurance program for the poor and disabled.”

“Merrill Lynch Warns of Another U.S. Debt Downgrade”

“The United States is in for another credit downgrade by year’s end if Congress fails to agree on a long-term plan to tame the nation’s $14.8 trillion debt, Merrill Lynch warned.”

“EU bank failures will crash Wall Street—again”

“The Occupiers Revolution enters a new phase soon: First Arab Spring rippled into American Fall. Next, EU bank collapses will ripple through Wall Street. For a long time we’ve been warning the 2008 meltdown never ran its course, foiled by mega-bailouts … bankers never shared the sacrifice … fought all reforms … are back to business-as-usual … learned no lessons … now even more delusional, expecting bigger bonuses … trapped in denial for three years … cannot see what’s ahead … a perfect setup for a bigger crash.”